Donald Trump: US may abandon automatic protections for NATO states5 out of 5 based on 4 ratings. 4 user reviews.

Donald Trump: US may abandon automatic protections for NATO states

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The US presidential candidate from the Republican Party, Donald Trump, said that if he is elected president he may abandon a guarantee of protection of NATO states.

Photo: ABC News / Getty Images

Speaking to the New York Times, the US presidential candidate from the Republican Party, Donald Trump, said that if he is elected president he may abandon a guarantee of protection of NATO states. According to him, the US would help the allies only if they have ‘fulfilled their obligations” to the USA.

According to the treaty signed by all members of NATO, states should come to the aid of any member that is attacked.

However, Trump has already said that he is going to adheres to the foreign policy strategy aimed at reducing US expenditure and involvement abroad.

The White House has not responded directly to Trump’s words, but spokesman Josh Earnest said that the US commitment to NATO was ‘ironclad’. He also added that Washington’s commitment to defend its NATO allies should not be underestimated by potential enemies.

“The president renewed that commitment just two weeks ago today when he travelled to Warsaw, Poland, to attend the NATO summit,” Josh Earnest said.

Meanwhile, the Republican candidate also said that if he is elected president he “would not pressure US allies over crackdowns on political opposition and civil liberties.” According to Trump, the US had to “fix our own mess” before “lecturing” other nations.

He also noted that would like to reassess the costs to the US of longstanding defense treaties, to force allies to take on those costs, and to close US bases abroad. “If we decide we have to defend the United States, we can always deploy” from American soil, “and it will be a lot less expensive,” he said.